Visiting New York via hip-hop lyrics

Anyone who has ever experienced an exhilarating surge of recognition upon recognizing a street or landmark or building from a movie or song (“Holy shit! It’s 53rd and 3rd, just like in that one Ramones song!) or book will be able to appreciate Jay Shells’ awesome new street-art project. Shells has been putting up street signs all over New York quoting rap lyrics that reference specific streets, boulevards, and addresses. The creative trouble-maker then places these signs at the iconic spots the rappers mentioned. In the process, Shells has created a living map of New York hip-hop history for rap fans with an appreciation of the art form’s roots and history. The signs have been making quite a splash. In this nifty video on Shells and his new endeavor from the good folks over at ANIMAL New York, the artist acknowledges that many of the signs will be stolen by hip-hop fans if they’re not taken down by cops, which makes it all the more valuable that at least part of Shells’ project has been captured for posterity in this video.